#Senbatsu Sousenkyo 2017

[random48fan]

[39-sakuchan-blog]

Sakura, you grew up...:’)💖

Now let’s get ready for next year;

After Oshima Yuko vs Maeda Atsuko, Watanabe Mayu vs Sashihara Rino, now,

🔥Miyawaki Sakura vs Matsui Jurina🔥

[yagura-nao]

Tanaka Miku 

AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo Official Guidebook 2017

[nagatsukinura119]

AKB48 49th Single Senbatsu Sousenkyo report

Well… I couldn’t write this report as soon as after I was done watching with this year’s SSK, because I had a total headache as I watched the whole thing and suffered internally. Even right now I can’t think straight due to lack of sleep and I need to catch a flight in an hour. Sorry for lack of pictures because this year I spent most of the time chatting with other fans. Also, I don’t think I’m that fully invested in this year’s SSK, I’m so sorry with my lacking passion but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t spend some money on votes this year. But, enough about me and let’s start with this year’s SSK report.

Aside from the fact that the morning event was cancelled thanks to the staff’s wise decision to choose Okinawa as the venue during TYPHOON SEASON. One word for this year’s event: crazy. It was simply CRAZY. Lots of changes in members ranking in as well as the ranks of regular participants. It feels like this was some kind of bingo game and members were just randomly selected into their ranks. No, that was not right, I actually considered to think that this year the rankings were rigged, I’m not gonna lie that this was how I felt. Honestly, I don’t know about 70-75% of the members who ranked in because there were some Kenkyuusei members who managed to get in and NGT members are starting to grab some ranks from other members. This isn’t actually a big deal and it’s great that these members were able to rank in for the first time and they deserved it and kudos for them. But on the other hand, because I didn’t know most of these girls it was hard for me to enjoy and focus fully on the event. Sure, later on some recognized names were mentioned like Sato Yukari (AKB48), Sato Sumire (NMB48), Ichikawa Miori (NMB48) and so on.

Nevertheless, there were really great rises and first appearances from members that I support like. First, I’m gonna mention some names that I recognize and pleased to see rising up.

Kato Minami #71

Girl has rose with 5 ranks from last year. Not really a huge gap considering that she was deemed the face of NGT initially, only to have another member as the group’s Center (I smell AtsuMina kind of relationship). Nevertheless, I believe she still has more to show to us and she’ll rise more and more as time goes on.

Oguri Yui #51

I’m still not a fan of Team 8 but something about Yuiyui keeps on calling for my attention. Perhaps it’s because of AKBingo when she was often called. So, when she was ranked from unranked to 51th place it was really pleasing to hear. I really hope she’ll grow more and catch more hearts at the same time show more of her talent.

Taniguchi Megu #69

YES! Naachan’s waifu rose 24 ranks and didn’t disappoint me. I knew that this year was gonna be Megutan’s year for SSK. I think she’s one of those members who gradually and slowly rise up through the ranks as well the hearts of the fans. I have a feeling that she’s not really there yet but she’s still young and I believe she still has chances to raise her popularity. Considering AKB’s current condition I really hope she will be one of the members along with the 16th generation girls to bring AKB to the top again.

Fukuoka Seina #32

Just like Megutan, Seichan’s rose of 65 ranks is utterly AMAZING! I seriously didn’t expect she’d rose so high and frankly speaking I didn’t have that much hope with her. I’m just really glad that she’s there and she’s one of the few members whom I lay my eyes on.

Honorable mentions for this category are Yokoyama Yui Team A #7 (rise 4 ranks) and Takahashi Juri #11 (rise 4 ranks) and Iwatate Saho #42 (rise 9 ranks).

So those are the members whose ranks I’m satisfied with. Now onto the WTF moments that almost made me feel infuriated. These members whose ranks that I didn’t expect coming from them and really, really dropped my jaw.

Kitagawa Ryoha #64 (same rank), Shibuya Nagisa #60 (drop 4 ranks), Tomonaga Mio #35 (drop 12 ranks)

Take note that these three names are Tentoumuchu members and for me, they were ranked quite low and this was a shock. I’m upset that Uha and Nagisa have lost their momentum and ranked low for their standard. It’s saddening enough that Miki’s no longer around but seeing members of Tentoumuchu fell this low is just heartbreaking. As for Mio, I’m not sure if she’s lost her momentum or this just wasn’t her year. Regardless, during her speech she looked like she was about to collapse which was really heartbreaking to look at. I can’t say for sure what to expect from Uha and Nagisa next year, but I believe Mio’s fans will try to avenge her next year and bring her to senbatsu or at least Undergirls because I believe she belongs there.

Mukaichi Mion #17 (drop 4 ranks)

This was a major shock. I think this was one of the biggest shock for me coming from this SSK. This is like, FUCKING MION, man. How on earth did she drop out of senbatsu? As much as I’m pleased that Naachan surpassed her but her drop is INSANE. It almost felt like somebody rigged her votes to drop her rank purposely. I can’t even say much about this expect that this is just too mind-blowing.

Komiyama Haruka #52

Biggest shock of the night for me. I can’t- I mean- WHAT!? When I heard her name, I was appalled that I thought the announcers read the card wrong or something. I remember her face being so appalled as she got up the stage to get her trophy. Frankly speaking her face was literally saying, “What the fuck am I doing here? Is this seriously what I’m getting?” and she looked like she was ready to kill someone. Ironically, I wished that when she received the mic, she’d go apeshit and just blow her mind out, or simply drop the mic out of discontent (lol). Surprisingly she did really well in her speech and retained her smile and remained professional and mature which made me clap my hands and feel proud for her. I really thought that Komiharu’s gonna fly this year since she had a promising year and so did many fans. In fact, most of us expected she’d be in senbatsu, so what gives!? I haven’t discovered what caused this huge drop from 21st place but I really hope that next year she’s gonna make a huge comeback and not disappoint the fans because I believe she has the ability to do better.

Kojima Mako #24 (drop 5 ranks)

This is definitely the next huge shocking moment next to Komiharu’s ranking. The moment Kojimako’s name was called, it immediately made me say the words: blasphemy, lies, sabotage and treason, because I really thought she’d make it to senbatsu this year, I mean, if not this year, when?! I’m still at a loss of words over this utter bullshit. I guess to put it simply, my thoughts for Kojimako’s ranking is the same as Komiharu’s.

Watanabe Mayu #2

Nothing much to say about Mayuyu’s rank expect for the fact that most of us have expected it but wished we were wrong. So, she secured the second place for the third time and some of us were delighted and I believe most of us were just “eh” about it. Comparing her number of votes from this year and last year, she actually dropped a lot of votes so I guess it’s no shocker that she didn’t get the first place but no one can blame her because Sasshi’s a monster. Anyway, the bigger reason why I decided to write about Mayuyu is her graduation announcement. I didn’t watch her announcement live because I was too disappointed that she didn’t win but I heard the news from live chats and despite that I expected it coming, I did NOT expect that she would announce it during SSK which was almost mindblowing as Riripon’s marriage announcement (which was a major WTF moment)

Okada Nana #9

I can’t say that I’m 100% upset and saddened that we failed to bring Naachan to her dream to reach Kami 7 this year. But her rose of ranks from 14th place and about 5000 votes is enough to show us that she has rose in popularity and likely will do much more in the future once her activities in STU48 are more prominent and she gains more fans throughout Setouchi. I think Naachan’s speech was the only moment when I shed tears throughout this SSK especially because of how she talked about wanting to be a great role model for the members of STU48. Remember that the members are young and they need a right role model to guide them, and what could be better than Naachan? She’s a promising member as well as a great leader (she may not be the best but she IS trying). Once again, Naachan mentioned that she wants to bring AKB48 on top again and I really want this to happen. This is why I shed tears along with the ‘daughters’ as they were so touched by her speech. While I’m somewhat satisfied with her improvement, I am still a bit salty that a new member managed to overthrow her and other regular members of senbatsu from Kami 7 so next year I’ll try to invest more votes for her.

Alright now that’s that, time for the same confession I did since the past 2 SSKs. Just like last year, the moment I heard Mayuyu’s name being mentioned in the second place I immediately turned the stream off because frankly I didn’t want to see the smug in Sasshi’s face, at the same time I had a feeling that her victory wasn’t gonna be that passionate, and judging from some comments I read in Stage48 and Tumblr, boy was I right. I guess the regret I had for my actions this year is that I didn’t at least stop to listen to Mayuyu’s graduation announcement. Anyway, for God’s sake I’m sick of seeing Sasshi standing at the top stage, sitting on the queen’s chair, and wearing that cape. Here’s why I don’t like Sasshi getting the first place:

1.       Everyone knows that it’s a no-brainer that she was gonna win again for the FOURTH time and THIRD time consecutively (but I still held hopes that Mayuyu was gonna beat her but NOOOOOO she got almost 100k votes higher than Mayuyu so Mayuyu didn’t stand a chance AT ALL). SASSHI, ENOUGH! STAHPPPPPPPPP! We get it; you’re the indisputable GIANT WITH A HUGEASS FANDOM THAT RANGES FROM IDOL FANS TO NON-IDOL FANS, NOW CAN YOU JUST GO AWAY!? *pant pant*

2.       I don’t think it’s necessary for her to participate since last year because I don’t see why she has to (even though she has all the rights to participate). Unless she’s being forced by her agency or manager to keep on participating and become a wall for new winners, I don’t see what’s the point for her to be there. She’s very popular and her influence has widened all the way from the idol world already. At this point I’m even considering that she’s doing this for personal gain. I think I’m just used to most members doing things NOT for themselves, but for the sake of others, so when this thought came in I just can’t help but feel like Sasshi is being selfish. Although she can enjoy the glory, fans are starting to not even bother her win anymore. I have a feeling (and REALLY hope) that she won’t be participating next year because she herself said that she won’t be in anyone’s way next year (amen to that).

I think there were more things I had in mind about Sasshi but I forgot about them as I write this down.

Another crazy thing that happened was obviously the speech of Sutou Ririka who announced her marriage. Frankly this announcement was super surprise because dating itself was already a huge deal for these girls, but MARRIAGE? What. The. Actual. Fuck? To be clear, I’m not her fan and I’m not that interested in her. But I know that she’s a sensible girl so when she announced this I just felt like this was forced and planned. And then not long after the event was over, Bunshun released the article of her apparently having a scandal. I don’t know how to react about this, because again, I’m not a fan of hers.  But I saw how fans react to this in both ways so we’ll just see how it goes for her from here on.

To finish this report, I just want to confess that I was sadly not so into it as I did during the past SSKs I’ve joined. Maybe it was because of my decreased passion due to my busy college life and at the same time there were too many members that I don’t recognize that I felt at a lost. But I guess these reasons are my fault since I needed to try and learn these members and know their charms. Well, regardless how crazy and full of BS this SSK was, it is undeniable that this was more fun and livelier because I got to chat and laugh with other fans who I befriended during our live chatroom. I will come back again for next SSK so see you guys next year!

[nicholyslim]

The Comeback post plus thoughts on the AKB48 Sousenkyo (Part 1)

Yeah I am not dead :D

Between a renewed push to study and tinkering with a buttload of hobbies, I amazingly have not lost interest in AKB48, or to be more precise the Sousenkyo. Maybe its the perpetual novelty of watching ranks, the emotions it can stir up and how brings out the more analytical/erudite sides in me.

So here goes:

1. When best really just ain’t enough

You know you really can feel for the girl when you are neutral for the girl, and yet when she lets out a roar of frustration at finishing third (AGAIN!), you totally get it. That frustration 

I am talking about Matsui Jurina. Another year, another shot, and a renewed push with intensity (this time around no more dicking about with those Request Hour votes), and third again.

So what happened? They got the proportion of votes to buy right... up to a point. Like last year, Jurina got 120k votes there about, and expressed as a proportion of overall album sales, more than last year’s percentage. They also got the voting strategy right, as shown by the first day numbers, high enough to be in the running, yet not high enough to force everyone else into showing their hands and engaging in voting frenzies.

The problem is that maybe, Jurina oshis got the numbers in a far too rational way. 

Look at it this way, all the way up to position 6, the next member up only had at most a margin/breathing space of less than 6000 votes. In fact, if 6000 votes were at random redistributed to any member below position 10, there would be a change in a position of anyone instantly

Example:

10. Kitahara Rie (NGT48 - Team NIII, 45,684) (↑2) 11. Takahashi Juri (AKB48 - Team 4, 42,663) (↑4) 12. Shiroma Miru (NMB48 - Team M, 41,491) (↑12) 13. Homma Hinata (NGT48 - Team NIII, 41,230) (NEW) 14.Furuhata Nao (SKE48 - Team KII, 40,202) (↑15) 15.Takayanagi Akane (SKE48 - Team KII, 38,576) (↑5) 16. Yoshida Akari (NMB48 - Team M, 35,540) (↑61) 17. Mukaichi Mion (AKB48 - Team K, 35,201) (↓4) (Undergirls Center) 18. Matsumura Kaori (SKE48 - Team KII, 34,977) (REENTER) 19. Minegishi Minami (AKB48 - Team K, 34,688) (↓2) 20. Sutou Ririka (NMB48 - Team N, 31,779) (↑24)

In this case, if the Minegishi got the 6000 (giving it to her out of respect, yo!), she would instantly be in the senbatsu again, a throwback to 2012,

So we assume votes increase in this pleasantly linear fashion, Jurina would have the pleasant side of 120-130K votes. Yuko style numbers, and a Yuko style victory.

Only that past the top five, that logic no longer holds. 

Sashihara Rino (HKT48 - Team H, 246,376) (-) (Senbatsu Center)

Watanabe Mayu (AKB48 - Team B, 149,132) (-)

Matsui Jurina (SKE48 - Team S, 113,615) (-)

Miyawaki Sakura (HKT48 - Team KIV, 82,803) (↑2)

Ogino Yuka (NGT48 - Team NIII, 73,368) (↑90)

See what I mean? Its as if you practically need an F16 to be pulling away and take victory.

It must really hurt again for Jurina, to work the game out right, play well and still not win, by virtue of just facing two taller walls. 

As for the eventual day she wins, I have a feeling she is going to be pretty divided in terms of the feels. There is going to be frustration from winning by virtue of the two walls pulling out (spoiler alert), but hey, there’s no shame in winning with Yuko numbers, and its a narrative many years in the making.

2. When the final boss really is THAT final boss.

You could apply all that I said earlier over to Watanabe Mayu fans. If anything, same game as above, only with a fair chunk more margin.

Except, once again... I don’t feel like repeating exactly the same thing I said last year.

Probably far more interesting was what she said 

3. So Sashihara takes it, once again!

Credit once again to her fans for seemingly pulling out yet another victory for her, and by that same very unassailable margin.

Sure there are plenty of murmurs about wealthy fan blocs, but then again, every other senbatsu member has one of those too. I think what truly matters for her is the sheer breadth of her fan base, which also comes as part of her job scope. 

Managing a new team, and pushing it to the top, trading witty repartees on Japanese television, shilling the products endorsed by AKS partners. Basically, she is everywhere.

Another thing about her is she is no longer the bumbling hetare of old, but rather an astute player in the world of idol pop culture. Sometimes its not just about what you do, but how you do and present yourself.

And as my sis said “you can never get bored of a good story of coming back from scandal”

More to follow

[minsuu]

“Akarin wants to illuminate everyone's heart's!”

Yoshida Akari, Senbatsu Election

2013 -> 50

2014 -> 72

2015 -> 64

2016 -> 77

2017 -> ??

[fanizalx-blog]

This year is last Senbatsu Sousenkyo for Rino Sashihara? Why I don’t know about this? And when I tried to search about this in Google, seem informations about Sasshi are very rare. They (seem) don’t up date anything about her.

Thanks for post about Sakura Miyawaki’s interview (from tumblr account: 39-sakuchan) that gave me information about Sasshi last sousenkyo.

[dancingswift160217]

Yesterday it was such a crazy prelim results announcement. Random whos on top16, a frog beating Jurina and lots of BTFOs and meltdowns. Can’t wait for the real thing in two weeks!

[doctor48md]

Other than the selection for the center position, what do you think of the line up for the next senbatsu and the positioning? I noticed that even Muto Tomu didn't get chosen even though she's Kami7. What do you think she have to do to be a staple?

Seems like their intent for this single is to function as some sort of farewell/reunion for the Produce48 girls (at least, for those who made it into the finals of the show). With the shrinking of the Senbatsu down to 23 from 28 places (vs. Teacher Teacher), there had to be quite a few cutbacks in the rest of the lineup to fit the the Produce48 girls in. Going back to the basic principles of the Senbatsu selection process though, the rest of the lineup contains no major surprises, sans one thing:

I’d thought Jurina was done with her leave of absence, but I guess I’m wrong; Sugawara makes for an interesting choice to make up the numbers for SKE48, though. She has been an on-off member of SKE48′s Senbatsu before this, but this move, when combined with her impressive #29 first-time rank-in at Sousenkyo, seems like it may herald a chance for her to become a more regular feature in SKE48′s lineups and promotional materials.

As for Muto, my advice would just be to wait. I mean, she was already starting to become a regular fixture between 2016-2017, until her non-participation in Sousenkyo last year. I’m sure with the affirmation of her rank this year she’s definitely in line to take up a regular spot once the spaces open up in the next single, after all this Produce48 fuss is over.

[ppgang]

[Series compilation]GANG PARADE Vol.5 Yamamachi Miki “I want to go to a place that surpasses everything the audience has ever imagined”

GANG PARADE, 7 members group from from WACK, same agency as BiS and BiSH. On 2017/5 an indefinite trade between Kamiya Saki and Aya Eight Prince happened; they released their first album with the new formation with Aya and had an overcrowded huge success live at Ebisu LIQUIDROOM. Since 2018/2 they are on a tour of 8 cities; on 2/20 the last single with these 7, including Aya, will be released; on 2/23 the tour final at Mynavi BLITZ will take place. Then on 3/3 the rental trade will end and a closing ceremony will take place at BiS one man live <BiS 2nd BEGiNNiNG TOUR FiNAL WHO KiLLED IDOL??>, on ¾ at Ryoukoku Kokugikan. In the midst of this shocking situation we'll publish GANG PARADE individual interviews. Fifth one, Yamamachi Miki appears.

Interview: Yamamachi Miki

Yamamchi Miki, who kept being active with strong feelings since POP era, GANG PARADE's predecessor. Being in the unit SAiNT SEX formed by BiS, BiSH and GANPARE senbatsu members, as her characteristic voice reaches as many listeners possible she's getting repercussion. In this interview, she'll talk about episodes like loosing the sensation of “the moment we become one during the live”, and about her current true feelings. Being honest to her feelings, to keep moving forward to make a better GANPARE,  we talked to Yamamachi Miki.

Interview: Nishizawa Hiroo Photos: Jumpei Yamada Edition assistance: Okamoto Takayuki

I FELT LIKE IT WOULD BE NICE IF I COULD INCREASE THE PLACES I CAN EXPRESS TROUGH THE WEAPON IS MY SONG

- 2018's GANPARE started their year with Miki-chan's MC at Idol Koushien on 1/3. “One year ago today, we GANG PARADE were the first group to perform among the ones at the same office. That time I screamed that we would definitely change that order. Today we are the 3rd among 4 groups. One before the closure act. We did change it! The next one will change order with is BiSH!!”. You declared that but, how were your feelings?

Yamamachi Miki (under, Miki): There was happiness of changing the perform order but, I thought we couldn't be satisfied at that. Because the ones closer to us are WACK groups, if we don't become first there first we won't be able to go higher. We changed the performance order within WACK but, I want to keep going without losing my spirirt.

- Even so, it is amazing that you managed to realize something you declared 1 year ago.

Miki: It is incredible, isn't it?

- It's about yourselves (laughs).

Miki: (laughs). I was happy that more people are recognizing that.

- The subject will go back a while but, during WACK sousenkyo, how was Miki-chan feeling?

Miki: I think I was aiming at the solo debut more than anyone (laughs). I obviously like to sing, there's also the fact that even within GANPARE my way of singing is characteristic, there were people who got to know about be because of the songs, I realized once more how important to me it is. That's why I was feeling like I definitely had to take the chance to get a solo debut.

- Among the unit formed by BiS, BiSH, GANPARE senbatsu members, SAiNT SEX, too Miki-chan's voice stands out, I think singing became a great weapon.

Miki: I can stand out on that aspect only. In live houses, I'm often told “I couldn't see Miki-chan” because I'm short. Because of that I make the dance movements really big but, it's something that I can't compensate no matter what. I felt like it would be nice to increase the places I can express trough the weapon that is my song.

- Including middle results, you were always at the top.

Miki: On the middle results days, I was always uneasy. I didn't know when my placement would go lower, there was the possibility to drop from 12th at the final result. If I thought about that the anxious parts would increase, it was scary.

- In the final results, you got 5th place. How did you feel?

Miki: I was happy that I got the first among GANPARE members, and also the 5th among WACK members. There's the fact that number of people who wanted to hear my solo was large, by placing in 5th there were people who listened to GANPARE songs, liked GANPARE, and thought “What kind of song will she sing?”, so I think it was a really great thing.

- This time you didn't get a solo debut but, I would like to listen to a song by Miki-chan only.

Miki: It would definitely be something strong and heavy (laughs). But I would like to do it one day if I have the chance.

I WANT TO MAKE IT “A TOUR I UNDERSTAND BECOMING ONE”

- You are currently on the national one man “BREAKING THE ROAD TOUR” but, how are you facing the tour?

Miki: 2 or 3 days before the tour started there was a chance to talk to all members. Before that there was a part of me that was uneasy. All members said “There's a moment during the live we become one” but, I never got this sensation. There was a time I had it but, at some point I started to not understand at all. But if I said that unity of the group might be broken, right? I thought there was the possibility of the group becoming disconnected because of one person so I didn't say it but, I ended up saying it (laughs). When I did it, everyone thought about it a lot and gave me advices like “How about that? If you try this?”. When I thought “Those people can really think about others” the image of “This might be the feelings of becoming one” was born. But, even so I didn't understand. This tour I personally want to make it a “tour I understand what is to become one”.

- So you did know how it felt to become one before.

Miki: I understood it about until the summer. There was a moment we talked and the feelings of the 7 of us came together, we performed at several events but, I started to not understand this emotion.

- I wonder when Miki-chan feels that a live was good.

Miki: When without thinking about anything the emotions flow. On this tour, personally the second part in Nagoya was really good. When I heard the harmony with Aya during the chorus of “UNIT” I was like “Buwaa--”. To be able to sing with Aya in the 7 members formation, when I thought it was just a few more chances the emotions flowed. In the end there's a part I say with Aya “Sing!” but, when we looked at each other the timing was perfect even without saying “ready, set”. That moment I thought “Ah, today might be really good”.

- Miki-chan is active since POP era, trough members leaving and joining, passing by a group name change, but how do you perceive the current 7 members lineup?

Miki: Now it feels like myself the most. Also simply it's fun. During POP there was a lot of hard things, like I would suffer because there were a lot of things I couldn't get used to. Now I think I can enjoy every single thing. Of course there are hard things but, there are more fun times to the point of surpassing the hard ones.

- When Saki-chan went to BiS on a trade and Aya joined GANPARE, I believe there was also a confusion but, when did the 7 of you started to fit nicely?

Miki: Hmm, when was it? Because it has been 10 months with the current 7 lineup I can't remember (laughs). During summer there were big events like “TIF”, “Natsu no Mamono” and “OTODAMA”, I think there was a moment everyone's feelings came together at once.

- Miki-chan joined the group because you admired Saki-chan but, aren't you worried how will the atmosphere become once Saki-chan returns again?

Miki: When Saki-chan returns, we just have to establish 7 of us including Saki-chan so I'm not worried. So far it's not like it turned really bad because the members changed, because we rearrange from there.

I WANT TO ENJOY WITH THE AUDIENCE WITH MY WHOLE POWER

- The last single with Aya “BREAKING THE ROAD” will be released. “BREAKING THE ROAD” is a melody hardcore song with great impact but, when Miki-chan heard this song, what did you think?

Miki: When I heard just the song at first, I thought that a really cool song came. Like it was a melody that BiS or BiSH could sing. Because part of me always admired this type of songs I was happy. Also, when I think that's the last single with Aya, it's the lyric we didn't had so far will stick. When we perform at lives, we'll likely cry. We might cry (laughs).

- On the other side, the coupling song “toro ikura uni tabetai” (laughs).

Miki: It's amazing, right? (laughs).

- What did you think when you heard this song?

Miki: I thought that even though the melody is cool, what's up with the lyrics? (laughs). But it's a unique world view, it's definitely a song the members wouldn't write so, I thought it had fun it it. It's an enigmatic song, isn't it (laughs)?

- From an extreme direct song, to a nonsense song, I think that 2 axis have been established but, it's unusual to not understand something to this point. I wonder with which feelings do you sing “toro ikura uni tabetai” (laughs).

Miki: Exactly. It was hard to think “what kind of feelings should I convey here” but, I think it's ok to sing feeling like I want to eat sushi (laughs).

- Speaking about nonsense, with which feelings do you sing “imi nai uta” from the album?

Miki: That is without any feeling. When I dance there are no feelings, so I sing thinking that I should be a robot. “toro ikura uni tabetai” too, when we perform it live I think it will become something good. Probably (laughs).

- Now, how is the feedback from the tour?

Miki: I think other members are saying it too but, we are making lives we get point over the average mark but, we can't quite get 100 points. We have to learn with the mistakes and connect with the next live, otherwise the “next” one wont exist. If give importance to do it carefully, or think “let's arrange it here” but, lately there hasn't been the reckless thing that we had until now. The good thing about GANPARE, we have always been reckless since older days, so maybe there'll be some transformation if we make that a plus.

- There's also Coco's 100km marathon (ended), seems like a lot will explode.

Miki: It's a short time but I think we can progress as a group, so at Mynavi BLITZ Akasawa it won't be 100 points, I want to change more and more in order to get 120 or 150 points.

- What like do you want Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka to be?

Miki: Normally I don't know what we'll do but, I want to perform with all my power, and to enjoy with the audience with all my power. Also, because this will be the last one man with Aya, I think we can make a really good live if we add the emotional as a plus. I want to go to a place that surpasses everything the audience has ever imagined. It's sad it will be the last one man with Aya but I'm looking forward to it. I want to make a live that will show the completed form of the current 7, and will let us go to the next one. We'll make everyone's feelings into one and give our best.

[random48fan]

[39-sakuchan-blog]

Miyawaki Sakura Twitter June 17, 2017

I ranked 4th place！ Everyone who supported me, thank you very much！ Sasshiiー！ Truly congratulations on 1st place！！I’m happyーーー

#AKB48総選挙2017 #HKT48

[yagura-nao]

Yabuki Nako  

 AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo Official Guidebook 2017

[soimort]

佐々木優佳里 - Twitter - Sat 20 Jan 2018

リクエストアワーセットリストベスト100✨ Request Hour Set List 100✨ 第43位 戸惑ってためらって(ネクストガールズ) No.43 Tomadotte Tameratte (Next Girls) 2017年の選抜総選挙で43位にランクインしていただいたみなさんとの大切な楽曲。本当にありがとうございました😢💕 In 2017's Senbatsu Sousenkyo I ranked No.43, and it's an important song for us. Thank you very much😢💕 #リクアワ2018 #Request Hour 2018

[weeabookstore]

senbatsu sunday. the weea-big one.

an insane amount of work went into this week’s weeabatsu. mostly because i tried giving index scores to other established rankings. they aren’t perfect as they are, but i do have a goal of making them really nice and comprehensive by next sousenkyo season. then i’ll share it with the weebs over on stage or something.

so i’ve explained in the spreadsheet how the weeabindex breaks down, but here are some highlights.

sousenkyo. oshima yuko, acchan, mayuyu, shinoda mariko, and yukirin are the sousenkyo’s top girls (of which only yukirin remains). after them, you start to see outliers like ngt’s honma or ikoma who both ranked highly in a single year. i considered limiting this list to members who participated three years or more (what i call the maeda atsuko rule), but figured that’d just make it harder for me updating in the future. the comparison to weeabatsu uses an alternate weeabatsu ranking that eliminates any girl who has not ranked in ssk. jurina, miyazawa sae, and kitarie’s ranks are the same between the indexed ssk and the alt weeabatsu. the most similar in terms of index score is oya shizuka.

stage48. i’ve only gone as far back as the 2012 rankings for this list, simply because i don’t think the older results exist in their complete forms anymore. the weeabindex scores here are derived from the total ranked rather than number eligible simply because of stage’s downvote system makes it statistically awkward to include girls who received no votes at all. i would say the popularity of the top 16 (senbatsu basically) is pretty indisputable. compared to weeabatsu, tanaka miku’s rank is the same while hiragana’s higurashima mei is the closest by index score all the way down there at the bottom.

reddit. this ranking is less important as the /r/akb48 community is pretty much dead. still, i had the time. jurina is reddit’s queen apparently, ranking first in the two given years. the index scores are going to be pretty positively skewed simply because the number of eligible members i much higher. compared to weeabatsu, kitarie is the same in rank, and shiraishi is the most similar in score.

your regular weeabatsu update after the break.

01. ske down 0.95, 16.2 above average. added kitano ruka (194). ske continues to be the weeabatsu top group. suda akari in here with the biggest individual boost this week. this is thanks to recent bingo appearances and her guest spots on the tentoumu-chu show.

02. keyaki down 4.28, 11.25 above average. keyaki overtook their senpai this week, and i can’t even tell you why.

03. nmb down 0.75, 9.41 above average. added shibuya nagisa (73). i talked some shit about nmb being rip this week. yagura announcing grad just really makes me feel like they have no future without leeching off of sayaka. yet weirdly and magically, they’re third best this week. some thanks goes to nagisa who i fell in love with while watching tentoumu-chu. also, yabushita jumped 60 places, contributing to nmb’s minimal average change.

04. nogi down 6.9, 8.81 above average. i lied earlier; i can guess why nogi fell some. terada, yoda, and kubo got kicked down a couple of tiers (probably a few too many). again, nothing much nogi is doing wrong, they’re still my favs. i’m just beginning to see the merit in other groups.

05. akb down 5.02, 2.59 above average. added eight members. i did it; i caught up on akbingo. to summarize some thoughts, (1) muramoto isn’t as shit as everyone says, (2) the best episodes include sister groups, (3) 2017 is a pretty good akbingo year so far. i’ve also now mentally separated akb into four subgroups: dai-senpai (gens 1-9), next gen (gens 10-15), 8tos, and the children (gen 16+/kenkyuusei).

06. hkt down 5.3, 10.7 below average. indexing ssk and the stage ranks really got me thinking about hkt. mainly, i really, really don’t understand the appeal of miyawaki sakura. at all. she’s just really boring to me. and as much as i like the girls now, a lot of that is thanks to sashihara. i want to preface that i knew absolutely nothing about sasshi’s history prior to watching hyakaten and tonkotsu, but that senpai/houhai dynamic is really what made hkt initially interesting.

07. sdn down 9.8, 37.5 below average. i’m still surprised that sdn isn’t last. really, it’s my respect for ohori and noro in the early bingo days that keeps them here. kondo is pulled up by association, an aspect of the weeabatsu that emulates the idea that being in the right team affects your standing.

08. team8 up 32.5, 41.58 below average. added six members. team8 the only positive change this week, and it’s a huge jump too. i watched bunbun; i liked bunbun, and this is the result. i wanted to make some comments on individual members that may seem familiar if you follow us on twitter. yamada nanami is the future yamamoto sayaka. chou kurena is the better shimazaki haruka. honda hitomi is... a less interesting miyazaki miho, but she’s okay. i made the comparison between team8 and hkt last week, but now i’ll honestly say i think 8tos have more raw potential.

09. ngt down 7.93, 42.93 below average. now, i’‘ll say ngt is essentially early hkt. however, i really have no clue how well they’ll do without kitahara. i don’t know how well kitarie will do without ngt. she said recently that she’d never passed a single audition after joining akb ten years ago. ten years. i like kitahara, so i hope she got one hell of a plan post-graduation.

i want to add here at the end, that i give no fucks about scandals. let the girls be girls. i say this because stage really crucified the hell out of sayuringo and owada nana (the latter of which never recovered before graduating). unless she’s a straight up felon, i don’t care what idols do off-camera or offstage.

[gocchisama]

Thoughts on the love ban rule : the philosopher’s bride

If you have watched this year sousenkyo, you probably have witnessed one of the biggest surprise of the 48group : an idol announcing her marriage. Sutou Ririka from NMB48, amidst the chaos, took 10 minutes to explain how serious she is about this, leaving the audience speechless. This is once again an opportunity to talk about the love ban rule : was Riripon right on announcing her marriage like that? What is interesting lie in the context : Sutou ririka is no ordinary idol. (you can also read a more general article about love ban rule here)

Ririka after the sousenkyo. Her T-shirt got sold out soon after.

We have to split our thoughts on two parts : Style and substance. Substance would be “why she did it” and style would be “how she did it”. First of all, people need to know that Shunkan Bunshun, famous tabloid for taking down many idol with scandals, was involved with her announcement. Few weeks before, they were already hinting to make a huge reveal on one of AKB members. It’s now obvious that this idol was none other than Sutou Ririka. We can’t really be sure when they “caught” Riripon dating her boyfriend. But what sure is, she knew she was the target and decided to not give the tabloid the upper hand and announced it in sousenkyo.

Sutou Ririka is quite the eccentric one. She reads a lot of philosophical books, has even wrote one (which was sold out soon after her announcement) and is someone very straightforward, to the point she answered in a showroom (or a stage performance) that she was indeed a virgin. Because such personality is rare, she gained a lot of fans and raised to 20th place in sousenkyo ranking. People implied she wanted to shock people, or was an attention seeker. I don’t think it was her purpose. She just wanted to be honest with fans, as deep inside her she doesn’t think she’s in the wrong doing so. We can quote few Nietzsche quote to grasp a little bit of Riripon’s supposed way of thinking :

-  “ There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”

- “ One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. “

-  "Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil." 

Riripon was most of the time edgy/politically wrong simply because she doesn’t differentiate her as an idol and herself. Stereotypes of an idol would be someone pure, cute and innocent; and many girls created a character to get as close as they could to this definition. But having so much girls reaching the same type of character, it’s actually those who stand out that are getting attention, like riripon. Sutou Ririka is an idol because she is true to herself.

I feel that she is an artist. She’s the kind of person that instead of following rules, she’s creating them. Idol rules were seen as a restriction to her personality. It also come to her perception of love: this is something that goes beyond everything, reason can’t tame feelings. Love doesn’t have to be justified, nor excuse itself to exist.

So in order to reach the bliss, she dived completely into love. One could question how quickly things happened. After her most recent interview, she explained she met him 1.5 years ago but only dated him late 2016, and the proposal was early 2017. Things went really fast, and it cast away the facts that Ririka was trying to be an idol and married at the same time. Actually, Cameron (NMB manager) said they were consulted before everything happened and testify of her sincerity. That’s why they support her until the end of her graduation.

Not only fans, but many 48group members were confused and surprised

Probably what was problematic was the style. By announcing this during sousenkyo, she sank into oblivion everything that happened afterwards, including Mayu’s graduation. She dynamited the sousenkyo, and it’s purpose : to be a special moment between idol and fans. What’s bugging is once again the timing: you can’t help but think what would happen if she didn’t got caught by bunshun. Was she going to continue being an idol despite dating? After all, she accepted being in NMB senbatsu despite dating her boyfriend late 2016. If she was serious about her relationship, she would already decided to withdraw from activities.

The reason comes from substance again : in her interview, she said she worked hard as an idol and still wanted to go to sousenkyo to get her ranking. She pushed her way of thinking so far that she thought that her relationship wouldn’t affect the work she done as an idol to get her ranking. This is her first mistake : Sousenkyo is not a place to drop such a bomb. It was the same situation as Oshima Yuko announcing her sotsugyo in kouhaku : she was criticized because she was shadowing other artist performance because of this. Those who defend the no love ban rule often mistake style and substance. But both are different. Simply put, she has the right to love (substance) but she failed to do it without harming others (style).

We’re not talking about delusional wota who want their oshimen pure and innocent (substance), we’re talking about 48 members (Takayanagi Akane, Oshima Yuko, Takahashi Juri, Okada Nana) who have seen her announcement as inappropriate to those who have tried to rank for many years, or to the kouhai/new members. It is quite unfair to have so many members leave the 48group being punished for being in a relationship and seeing such bold statement from a popular member right during the sousenkyo.

It’s even more irritable because Management are being super ambiguous about this. What the hell, is there a love ban rule or not? To have a flexible love ban rule between unpopular and popular members is unacceptable. Owada Nana and Nishino miki have soon graduated after being caught going out at 2AM with ex johnny’s, but Aki-p offer Ririka to stay? It’s disrespectful to those who try so hard to maintain a good example and self discipline, like Okada Nana. Management can’t claim to damage control what happened when they’ve never fixed a situation that can allow such things.

Friedrich Nietzsche is Riripon’s favourite philosopher

To have Yamamoto Sayaka apologize on behalf of NMB48 for all this ruckus tells pretty much that this situation has gone way beyond Ririka’s only persona. It concerns not only ririka, but NMB image, 48group image, management and fans. She should have taken into account everyone before taking her decision. And because things went so fast because of bunshun, she had no choice but to announce it during sousenkyo. My humble opinion would be that she didn’t act selfishly (she apologized to her senior for troubling the sousenkyo) but it expressed some sort of immaturity to not think the impact of her action to others. She’s young, and to decide to graduate and leave the idol world that she loved in few weeks apart was too difficult. I can understand cameron whe he said Riripon didn’t try to betray fans (and get it both ways).

So probably the biggest culprit would be management (they are too happy to have fan’s attention discarded from the okinawa failure) that let this situation goes on even after being aware of this. I said above that Riripon’s responsability was not engaged from a moral point of view, but i’m not sure many fans would be as apologetic toward riripon as me. What’s scary, is that management allow Riripon to participate in handshake? To face all those probable insult, criticism, all on her own? Isn’t management supposed to protect her? This is quite the ironic situation.

I will never blame her for being human, too human.